Pheonix Park Cafe

Adjacent to one of the most fantastic playgrounds in Melbourne is a gorgeous little café/​canteen. For all its suburban location it has Northern Melbourne charm and quirkiness. Whilst the kids pretend to be pirates, princesses or aliens running amok on the giant castle-​esque playground, mums and dads can sip their lattes, eat their gourmet toasted foccacias, and when it comes to it, buy their children an icypole to cool them down. The staff are friendly, and one feels a little like they’ve been welcomed into a neighbours kitchen for a drink.
The café plays host to a lot of childrens’ parties, and, whilst I have only ever seen the café set up for one (having, unfortunately, never been invited to dress up as a fairy and rub glitter into my dress) it looks like this is their speciality. If I could play pass-​the-​parcel and eat jelly and icecream, I’d want to do it in a picturesque place like this.